The First Beginning
by hestia-jones85
Summary: And so the friendship begins...


Peter reread his History of Magic homework.

It looked all right. It wasn't bad. It was just – above average like the rest of the homework he submitted at school. Really.

Okay. It wasn't as brilliant as some of the top students' essays, but his was not bad. Not as bad as Crusoe's, who was a Hufflepuff in his year. Crusoe had got a P once or twice, and because he usually partnered Crusoe at Potions, Peter often used him as his benchmark.

Peter always got an A.

In any case, should he ask someone to read it over for him? His mother sometimes said two pairs of eyes were better than one.

He looked round the common room. Most of the students there were his seniors. Peter was not going to ask a senior to give his homework a read. What if it was bad and they thought him stupid?

There was only one other first year in the common room, and it was a girl. Lily Evans. Peter considered her for a few seconds. She was a smart student, and she seemed pretty nice. She wouldn't laugh at him if he had got anything wrong. She didn't seem the type.

He got up, hesitated and sat down again.

What if his roommates thought he was a nancy boy for asking a girl's help? Wait a second – why wasn't he thinking of asking his roommates' help? James Potter and Sirius Black often got good marks, and Remus Lupin was reading something or the other whenever he had free time. Well, Peter could have asked Remus if he hadn't been sick and gone off to the Hospital Wing. So, he was left with the other two.

Why hadn't he thought of asking them?

To be honest, Peter was not really comfortable in their presence. They were nice enough, but they were a bit too..._bold_ for his taste. They had asked him to join in their pranks once or twice, and Peter had quickly refused them. He had no intention of serving detention if he could avoid it. However, his rejection had sort of made them indifferent towards him, and he had been regretting his hasty decision a bit.

No, he was closer to Remus. But Remus was too cautious, again. And he was always falling sick, and he wouldn't tell Peter what was wrong with him. So, whenever his mother asked him in her letters about his new "friends," he…didn't have much to write about, and would normally skirt the issue.

But it was okay. Peter had been at Hogwarts for just four months, so there was plenty of time to build a social life. If only the boys in his dorms weren't so different…

He sighed and rolled up his parchment. As he put all his stuff inside his bag, he debated again whether he should ask those two troublemakers for their help or not. He didn't want them to make fun of him; they were the type to scorn homework and people who completed them before time. But it wasn't like he had much of a choice. Yes, he would just go and ask them and he no longer cared if they laughed at him.

He found them having a mock-duel in the dormitory. Both were wearing their school-robes which had been turned red and gold. Peter marveled at how those two mastered new spells easily. As he watched, Sirius waved his wand and shot gold sparks towards James. The latter jabbed his wand in the air and sent silver sparks.

Gold and silver collided in air, and Peter stared open-mouthed at the beautiful sight.

"The two of you are something," he said, the praise escaping from his lips.

Both Sirius and James grinned at him. "Hey there, Peter!" said James. "What have you been up to?"

"I've been working on my History of Magic essay," answered Peter as he walked towards his bed.

"Blimey," said Sirius, "you lot are enthusiastic about schoolwork, aren't you?"

Peter blushed. "It's just…I'm not used to doing work in the last minute."

"It's all right, Peter," said James. "You don't have to explain. But just have a bit of fun, won't you?"

Peter nodded, not knowing how best to defend himself. "Okay."

Sirius and James was about to resume their fighting, so Peter asked them hurriedly. "Can either of you read over my essay and see if it's all right?"

Sirius and James stared at each other, then burst out laughing.

Peter reddened. "It's okay if you don't want to," he said in a high voice, "you don't have to laugh-"

James shook his head. "We're not laughing at you, but at how concerned you are about your homework."

"Mate," continued Sirius, "it's bad enough you completed it two days before we're supposed to hand it in, you want it to be _perfect_."

"Well, you two can say that," said Peter hotly, "but _I_ can't! It's not like I can get top grades without trying too hard."

"But that's your problem," answered Sirius. "You try too hard. You should enjoy your time here once in a while, forget about work."

"This – this is fun for me," said Peter weakly. "I don't have anything else to do for fun. It's not like I can hang out with you two, or Remus, who's always ill or studying."

James and Sirius didn't – or couldn't – reply this time.

"Well, I think I'm going to bed," said Peter in a morose voice, and he pulled the curtains. From his bed, he could hear the two boys muttering.

"Peter!" called James. "If we proofread your essay for you, will you do something for us in return?"

Peter swallowed. This was it. He was facing the choice again, and he had to seize it now.

"What is it?" he asked after a minute's silence.

"Will you join us in our mock-duels?" asked Sirius.

Peter felt a weird sensation pass over his body. It was a combination of excitement, happiness, dread, and above all, a great feeling of freedom.

"Okay," he said, laughing.

***

DISCLAIMER: I am not J.. Although everything you can recognize belongs to her.


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